January 2010
I am a bit confused and I hope you'll be able to provide your suggestions.
As I posted few weeks ago, I had hit my Mazda 323 and put it through insurance. They gave me two options, either to take the car back as it is and they'll give me money or they'll write it off and would give me a bit more extra money. So I went for first option. Ordered the required parts on ebay (luckily found a scrappy which had same colour car).
While the car was with insurance, my brother in law was selling his Vectra which I bought off of him because I knew Mazda 323 would be a write off.
Now I need to sell one and can't make up my mind which one to sell.
Both are V plate 2.0TD, 5 door hatchbacks. Mazda has done 136k and Vectra has done 105k. I've had Mazda for about 2 and half years now, never had any trouble. I changed the cam belt and being servicing it regularly so I know the car. Whereas, my brother in law bought Vectra from auction and had it for only few months.
Mazda seems to be faster and less noisy. Whereas Vectra seats are more comfy.
If you had the option which one would you keep and why? Read more
i want to upgrade the power on my mk3 mondeo tdci 130, manual. There are a few chips around, most of which alledgedly increase power by around 30bhp. Is there a specific one to go for? are they reliable and insurance approved? should i get it fitted or can i do it myself, and what effect does it have on fuel consumption? any help would be greatly appreciated, cheers Read more
Morning all,
The 'exhaust gas monitor' and 'service' lights came on as I was tootling along yesterday. Looking in my handbook tells me that I need to take the car to a Renault dealer asap. It's booked in tomorrow at my local independent Renault specialist but I thought I'd try to find out what may the matter before I take it in - forewarned is fore-armed and all that.
So, does anybody have any thoughts on what may be the problem? And, more importantly, how expensive it may be?
Just as an aside, I'd put an tenner's worth of supermarket fuel in about ten miles before the light came on - not sure if that's related but you do hear stories....
Thanks in advance. Read more
Thanks, shara. When the lights came on, there was absolutely no difference in the performance of the car - it drove perfectly normally. To be honest, I could do with it being a simple 'wiring glitch' as money is tighter than a duck's bottom underwater right now...
Cheers.
I have been driving for 45 years - in that time I have only broken down and recovered 3 times, fixed at the side of the road 3 times.
Major repairs - Gearbox 2 x both under warranty, Head gasket x 1, Clutch x 1, rear axle x1.
Batteries x 2 ( 1 under warranty), electrical faults x 3/4........................really the rest is brakes, tyres, and servicing.
Mileage would probably average 20-25,000 mls/year.
Makes - mostly Ford, Vauxhall, some BL, odd MB, last 14 years Honda, Mazda, Nissan.
Most unreliable car MB C Class, Most reliable cars Honda & Mazda
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There was a fourth which I'd forgotten about, as it happened literally 100yds from my house and didn't really cause me a problem.
mk2 Cavalier SRi - fuel pump relay failure.
The driver's door on my Focus Ghia estate has been refusing to lock via the remote for a while now, although because there's a key hole it hasn't been too much of a problem.
However the rear door on the driver's side has now also started playing up, which is a bit more of a pain because it means reaching in from the front to press the knob to lock it.
Don't know if significant but the problem was initially intermittent.
Any ideas how much this is going to cost to fix at the local indie? Read more
There's a diagnostic mode for the central locking that might help - see here for
details :
Thanks mike.
I usually book hire cars directly through the rental company, or on occasion I have used Holiday Autos. I have now been quoted a good price from a company called Car Hire 3000.com Has anybody used this company and are they OK/trustworthy?
Another company that is new to me is auto-europe.co.uk. Again is this outfit safe to use?!
TIA Read more
Have used Auto-Europe in Portugal & Spain, without problems. Sometimes the pick up and drop off arrangements are a bit different from the norm, but as long as you know in advance, not a problem.
I'm wanting to fix a leak in the heater matrix of my Volvo 740. I've read about K seal - which actually claims to effect a lifetime fix. There are lots of glowing testimonials on the maker's site but am wondering if anyone in here has tried it and with what results... Read more
Its the best stuff on the market.Nothing else comes close.Best £9 I ever spent,once on a Vectra, once on my wifes Micra. Good Luck !
Just bought a 2001 Lupo,1.7 sdi,38k. My wife's dizzy friend filled this with unleaded last week & drove it less than 6 miles till it came to a stand.She hasnt even had any proper mechanical advice yet & just simply listened to the various horror stories about.Result was her hubby has gone out & bought her a new motor (more dosh than sense).So shes round tonight asking what to do with the Lupo,I asked what she wanted for it,replied 200, I choked on my whiskey,ran upstairs & came back with 10 twentys.Will tow it up to my indie 2morrow for the once over,im hoping for an easy fix as remember being told that the sdi type wouldnt be too affected by this.Hoping that ive got a real bargain here,will really get me loads of brownie points with the wife if she gets this little runaround.So what do you all out there think the worst diagnosis could be,im no mechanic & simply took a gamble,here's hoping!!!!!!!
Also its got that bright red vw paintwork,looking a bit weathered,never been handwashed or polished for ages.Any recommendations on what to use to bring it back to its former glory,so many polishes & cutting products available now,don't let my taxi's get to that stage,there clayed & polished 3 times yearly,usually use autoglym,but am currently using this new Turtle Wax ice stuff,although will be no use for this job.
All advice greatly appreciated,& a free dram for you if you ever visit the Isle of Man or a pillion ride round the TT course on my CBR600 Read more
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/Kent/factsheets/FS40NE...f
Appears it is 20 litres (~4 gallons) in approved metal/plastic containers
This thread has been removed for now as it contained significant details which could compromise an ongoing Police investigation. All of you will recall the thread and the OP today posted a comprehensive update. Read more
Hi,
Whilst I was changing my Rear discs and pads, I found that I did have to remove the calipers to allow the disc to be removed from the hub and undo the 2 very tight bolts that hold the calipers to the car (M9 bolts about 6 inchs long made of high tensile steel 10.9 stamped on them), I did manage to do the passenger side ok, the bolts do have lock tight on them and because the caliper is alloy and the swing arm is steel there was a built up of about an 2-3 mm of white corrosion behind the caliper which has been making the pads wear at an angle which had to be cleaned off.
Question is, I have broken off just one of the bolts flush with the swing arm, do i use an easy out or do i drill out the bolt with a colbolt drill to the correct size to tap a new thread into it? does any body know the Tap & drill size i would need? any ideas would be helpfull and has anybody done the same in the past!
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i have Cleaned off all of the corrosion on both faces and applyed grease to the faces to stop it happening again, suggest people do this as the corrosion & lock tight on the bolts would of caused any bolts to shear & weakened. Thanks Brian
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I had a Vectra that was nothing but unidentifiable trouble.
I'd stick with the devil you know, the Mazda. Moreover, it's probably not as straight as it once was, so not as easy to sell.